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Trump’s U turn: US forces to pull out of Syria soon

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Donald Trump

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was against complete withdrawal

In a major shift in his Middle East policy, US President Donald Trump has insisted that U.S. forces would pull out of Syria “very soon” and argued about Washington’s waste of $7 trillion in West Asian wars.

While addressing industrial workers in Ohio on Thursday Mr. Trump said U.S. forces were close to securing all of the territory that the Islamic State group once claimed. “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other people take care of it now,” he promised. This was responded by people’s applause.

Trump was quoted saying, “Very soon — very soon we’re coming out. We’re going to have 100% of the caliphate, as they call it — sometimes referred to as ‘land’ —taking it all back quickly, quickly,” he said. “But we’re going to be coming out of there real soon. Going to get back to our country, where we belong, where we want to be.”

President Trump did not elaborate who the others might take care of Syria. However, Iranian advisors backed with Russian air force have been supporting Syrian forces in defeating terror groups.

Trump’s sudden announcement of US forces’ withdrawal from Syria has surprised all, friends and foes.

Trump’s announcement without taking Department of State or Pentagon on board was clearly indicated Heather Nauert, Spokesperson of State Department publicly admitted about her ignorance. Responding to a question during her official briefing as if she was aware of any decision for the U.S. to pull out of Syria, she responded, “I am not, no. No.”Trump’s U turn: US forces to pull out of Syria soon

The U.S. has more than 2,000 military personnel in Syria. Recently forces from Turkey and US were in standoff at Afrin, where Turkey captured some of the areas removing US supported separatist Kurds.

Syria, Iran and Russia believe that US forces were imparting training to the IS militants and other anti-Bashar forces. However, US claims that its forces were   working with local militia groups to defeat the Islamic State while trying to keep out of Syria’s broader civil war.

Mr. Trump’s announcement to withdraw from Syria goes against new U.S. Syria strategy announced in January by then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has since been sacked. He argued that U.S. forces must remain engaged in Syria to prevent the IS and Al-Qaeda from returning and to deny Iran a chance “to further strengthen its position in Syria”.

He had also warned that “a total withdrawal of American personnel at this time would restore Assad and continue his brutal treatment against his own people.”

Donald Trump posted his words through tweet post along with video of Ohio meeting.

Marwan Kabalan, a fellow at Qatar based Arab Centre for Research and Policy Analysis and former Dean at Faculty of International Relations & Diplomacy at University of Kalamoon in Damascus told Aljazeera that withdrawal of US forces from Syria would be similar to what Americans did in 2003 by ousting Saddam regime in Iraq and gaving it to Iran in a “silver plate”.

Several western and Middle East experts believe that US committed a blunder by removing its ally Saddam Hussein in Iraq which had benefited Iran the most. Present Iraqi government is considered to be the closest ally with Iran. Similarly Syria depends more on Iran for decades. Iranian military advisors played important role in defeating Daesh (IS) terror in both the countries.

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

The Voting for the 2024 US presidential election has begun in the eastern time zone in America. Following months of intense campaigning by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her Republican challenger Donald Trump, Americans will vote to choose their next president.

Reportedly, the first ballots were cast in the minutes after midnight (US time) in a tiny New Hampshire township along the US-Canada border. Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Several pollsters have predicted a neck-and-neck contest, which brings the focus on the swing states to decide the fate of the presidential election.

Notably, in the United States, most states have a very clear preference for either the Republican or Democratic candidate. With this, only seven key swing states namely Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina will decide the result. Winning the majority of these aforesaid swing states is often essential for candidates aiming to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

In this election, Pennsylvania has emerged as the biggest prize between the two candidates. With the most electoral votes (19) than any other battleground state, Pennsylvania could possibly determine whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris clinches the White House.

On the last day of campaigning, Republican nominee Trump and Democratic nominee Harris criss-crossed key battleground states and delivered closing remarks. Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to power, held rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan while Vice President Kamala Harris addressed supporters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Earlier in 2016, Donald Trump managed to make inroads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the three Great Lakes states that make up the blue wall or a Democratic stronghold. Nonetheless, in the 2020 US Election, US President Joe Biden wrested the states back to the Democratic camp.

Notably, to win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of electoral votes of 270 out of 538.

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Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Justin Trudeau shares video of his Diwali celebrations

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

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Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.

Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.

Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”

On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.

Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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